Control: Resonant Review: Worth the Visual Overload

I’ve spent over 40 hours with Control: Resonant, and what I said in my review-in-progress remains true. This is easily my favorite title from Remedy Entertainment, as the world of the unexplained paranatural continues to pull me in. The final act of the game was a visual overload and a flex of Remedy’s ability to create complex level designs and turn them into a fun open-world playground. 

*This serves as the second part of my review of Control: Resonant. The review-in-progress covers all other aspects of the game from gameplay, traversal, more context on narrative and characters, to the performance and visuals seen in the game. This finalizes the review with a verdict and adds more about the game that I observed in the second half of the game, spoiler-free.

If you want my full opinion of the game, check out the Control: Resonant Review-in-progress

The world of Control is a fascinating one, as this isn’t about good or evil, or a protagonist going against an antagonist with destructive goals. Control: Resonant is all about humans being thrown multiple curveballs at once when it comes to what’s real and what is possible. It’s a conflict and change we just so happen to be in the middle of, and we are all trying to understand it just enough to survive. 

Half the time, characters are just dumbfounded by what's happening, then seconds later accept what’s in front of them and move on to how to deal with it. Be it an entity that speaks in riddles and influences people near it, a mold endlessly growing and mind controlling those who eat it, or something else entirely, it’s all weird and fun to see through as I slowly grew to enjoy the idea of the Objects of Power and the entities that weirdly find their way into our own reality. 

The funny thing about this world is that it’s not that hard to follow when everyone around you is just as confused. Each time Dylan explores something new, he reports back to his handler Zoe, and it’s mostly her either reassuring him that it's normal, even when it's not, and that they knew about it, or being completely shocked by what we found. It’s a nice back and forth between a person that was imprisoned for years and a representative of an agency that specializes in these sorts of situations. 

A Backstory that Didn’t Do Anything Different

During the second half, we get a deeper understanding of the Faden siblings and their role in what is happening to the city. It doesn’t necessarily explore new ground, as sci-fi enthusiasts will see similar beats to popular shows and other games, making it a bit of a letdown, as I was hoping for a more unique backstory to support Dylan and Jesse Faden’s history with the government organization known as the FBC. 

Control: Resonant tries to carefully balance its story beats to not completely feel overwhelming, but still feel a bit relatable to some degree. It really helps that most characters are just as dumbfounded as Dylan and us, as no one has a clear understanding of everything that’s happening. It felt like we are all learning as we go, and that helped when taking in this world and accepting each beat that occurs. 

I’m Not Stuck in With You, You are Stuck Here with Me!

Beyond story beats, I really enjoyed my time with the game, as doing all the side activities with fun narratives kept me looking around well after the credits rolled. 

Combat evolved to the point where I could really flex, as the later parts of the game felt trivial, going from dying every now and then due to being overwhelmed to mopping the floor of every enemy I encountered. 

Even the final encounters were not a big challenge, but were more of a spectacle to witness. The enemy designs, especially the Resonant bosses, are a good mix of modern, weird, and body horror, showcasing Remedy’s specialty. While I was hoping for a big challenge towards the end, it didn’t diminish the overall experience, as the whole experience was a fun spectacle and a nice final act to all the weirdness. 

The exploration of what’s possible in Dylan’s builds continued right into the final section of the game, where the resource to reset talent points and skills became one of the most valuable resources you can obtain. 

The Final Location was Insane

The final location in the game was insane to navigate and is a twisted space that encapsulates the uniqueness of this world. I don’t want to spoil it but it utilizes the concept of gravity manipulation and the many traversals that give Dylan full control of his movement either on the ground or while in the air. It was a trippy space that was fun to understand and navigate. It was such a big highlight, and confirmed my decision of delaying my full review because this section was worth taking in at my own pace.

I couldn’t recommend Control: Resonant enough, especially to those coming off either Alan Wake 2 or Control. This sequel captures Remedy’s unique specialty in the video game space, as there’s no other studio that can deliver a sci-fi world like Control. 

It may look a bit too much visually, which is a reasonable reaction, as it sometimes feels like the game is set inside a kaleidoscope. There are certainly moments where the visual overload can be a lot to take in, and the story doesn't always reach the same heights as its strange world. By the end, I had also become powerful enough to make most encounters feel trivial. 

But it grows on you, as once you give it a chance, it can easily be one of your favorite open-world action games that doesn’t involve magic or the supernatural. Sometimes, just accepting something that can’t be explained isn’t always a bad thing.

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Verdict: 4.5 / 5 (Near Exceptional)

PROS

• Amazing level design and fun use of Dylan’s movement abilities.

• Captivating visual designs in both enemy designes, bosses, and certain environments only the Control series can deliver.

• Freedom of choosing your combat style is present early on and encourages experimentation.

• Dylan and Zoe are a likeable pair that serves as the perfect guide to the weird.

CONS

• Backstory of Dylan is significant but doesn’t explore anything new in the sci-fi space.

• Frame rates can dip randomly during busy moments in combat.

• Bosses are more of a visual spectacle than a challenge to overcome.

What I’ve Played 

• Finished the main story after 40 hours of play

• Explored New Game+ for a few hours

• Cleared most side stories and have leveled up each area to at least level 5

*This review is based on a PS5 review copy provided to the reviewer

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About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.